How to be Transfigured
by anomalokappa
Summary: There were some rather odd things going on at Hogwarts the year Minerva McGonagall, age 11, first stepped off the school train. Still, that wasn't going to stop her from making friends...even if her friends were rather odd, themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! Like the summary says, this is the tale of Minerva McGonagall's student years at Hogwarts. I don't have a Pottermore account, so I made up my own headcanon about her family, which turns out to be completely wrong. Oops. I'm going to try to keep this mostly in-universe, though—she's not going to defeat Voldemort or anything like that. The only other thing I'm changing is the age of some of the other characters—I wanted all of her friends to be characters we know from the books, to cut down on the number of OCs. The only major OC is Minerva's sister, and you don't need to like her. ;)

Enjoy!

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><p>Venus McGonagall named her new toad Troy; her sister, Minerva, in a fit of pique, named her owl Mycenae. Their parents sighed.<p>

Minerva was starting her first term at Hogwarts tomorrow and _wanted_ to be excited, really, but instead she was in a sulk. Venus was a fifth year, very pretty, got the best marks in the school, and was Ravenclaw's Seeker; Minerva was Venus' little sister. That's who she'd been her whole life, and she didn't see how following Venus to Hogwarts would change anything. She'd be a Ravenclaw, of course, just like every other McGonagall for two hundred years, and if her marks were good they'd only be what the teachers expected from her. If she made the house Quidditch team in her second year, it'd be because Venus was team captain by then, and Venus could be ever so _kind_. Maybe she'd be a prefect by the time Venus became Head Girl. That was always the way things went.

Minerva scowled and threw another wadded pair of tartan socks into her trunk.

Her parents hadn't even let her have a cat! Minerva loved cats, partly because they made Venus sneeze. A cat would have made Minerva feel a bit less lonely—after all, no one was going to send her post except for her family, and they had owls of their own. Mycenae was a poker-faced barn owl with uncanny red eyes, not much of a friend in himself.

On the bright side, the trip to Diagon Alley had been fun. While Venus wandered off with some school friends, Minerva had lost herself inside Flourish and Blott's, so now she had an alarmingly large stack of books to pack. ("There's a library, you know," Venus had said.) _Quidditch Through the Ages _went on the bottom; _Hogwarts, A History_ down the side; _Great Animagi_ inside her cloak; and _The Rise and Fall of Grindelwald _on top, along with the books from her school list. Minerva was especially eager to get to the part of _Rise and Fall_ that described Albus Dumbledore's heroic defeat of the dark wizard. _Tricky Transfiguration_, the last book Minerva had bought, still lay open on her pillow—she was determined to be as prepared as possible for her hero's class.

There was a knock. "Are you finished packing, Minerva?" Came her mother's voice through the bedroom door.

"Yes, mum." Everything she owned but the book and her toothbrush was in the trunk. It was a big trunk, but when she put it like that..."everything" seemed so small.

"That's good. Now, don't stay up too late reading, dear; we need to get an early start tomorrow."

"Yes, mum."

"And don't be nervous, Minerva, love—you will start making friends as soon as you get on the train."

"Yes, mum."

Minerva heard her mother sigh. "Good night then, dear."

As her mother walked away, Minerva began blowing out the candles, all but the one by her bed. She wasn't ready to sleep quite yet—she wanted to finish the book before her first Transfiguration class. Professor Dumbledore would _have _to be impressed.

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><p>The next chapter is written—I'll post it in a day or two. In the meantime, please review? See you soon! *heart*<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

When Minerva awoke the next morning, her sulk had vanished, replaced by a buzzing excitement. Living in Venus' shadow—which she was used to, anyway—was worth it; she was going to learn magic! But then there was the trip to King's Cross and the usual fuss with the barrier, and by the time the McGonagalls had gotten themselves and all their luggage onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Minerva was starting to feel the effects of her late night. She huddled next to her mother, blinking furiously (from the engine smoke!) as Venus waved to what seemed like half the crowd.

"Well, this is it, then," said Mr. McGonagall.

"Dad—" Minerva began, only to be cut off by the arrival of a lanky, dark-haired boy.

"Hi, Venus."

"Hey! Mum, Dad, this is Riddle—he's in the Slug Club with me. Third—no, sorry—_fourth_ year. How were your holidays?"

Riddle, the newcomer, flinched as if he'd been hit, and then said in a strained voice, "I'm happy to be going back to school."

As Mr. and Mrs. McGonagall shared a glance, Venus seemed to realize she'd said something wrong. "Sorry, Tom," she murmured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Riddle shrugged. "I'll go grab us a compartment, then."

"Good. No—wait! Meet my sister first. Minerva's starting this year."

Minerva glared at him, at first on principle, and then in response to the look he gave her, one of cold...something. Appraisal. That was the word. He was adding her up.

"She's a brat." Venus added, nudging her.

"Venus!" Chorused their parents.

"Sorry, Minerva. Anyway, we really should start boarding."

This launched a flurry of tearful hugs and handing out of luggage among the four McGonagalls, while Tom Riddle stood stiffly to the side, pointedly not watching. Minerva lost sight of him as her mother pulled her in for one last embarrassing hug, and by the time she managed to come up for air, he had vanished.

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><p>I think the style I'm going for here is a cross between JKR and Joey Comeau in <em>We Are Become Pals<em>. How am I doing? Please let me know! And I'll see you soon. *heart*


	3. Chapter 3

On the train, Venus helped Minerva into an empty compartment.

"Can't stay. I need to check in with the rest of the prefects now—we should be up front—but then I'll come back for you. You can come sit with my friends if you'd like—Augusta Longbottom, Helena Clearwater, you know. Maybe Riddle, if he's not with his Slytherin crowd. It'll be good to introduce you to people."

"Don't," said Minerva. "I'll make my own friends."

"Are you sure? Just some other Ravenclaws, at least."

"I _said_, don't bother. When we're at Hogwarts, I want to do things by myself, and I can't be by myself if you're always hanging around!"

"Suit yourself!" Venus snapped. "Brat." She stamped out of the compartment and slammed the door.

Settling back against the seat, Minerva glared out the window at nothing in particular, only to hear the door reopen behind her. "Venus—oh!" The boy standing in the doorway was a stranger, and he had his wand out.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his accent Scottish like her own. "I though this was empty." His eyes traced hers to the wand in his hand, and he gave a bit of a start. "Sorry," he said again. "Force of habit." He shoved the wand back into the front pocket of his jeans, but left his hand hovering over it.

"You can sit here." Minerva told him, curious in spite of herself—why was he so twitchy?

"Er. Thanks." The twitchy boy flashed a glance over his shoulder and then sidled into the compartment, careful not to turn his back to her. His eyes flickered over everything as if searching for threats.

"I'm Minerva. McGonagall. What's your name?" Minerva asked, trying not to laugh.

"Moody. Alastor Moody. What's that?"

"Mycenae. My owl." The bird was in his cage in the luggage rack above their heads, blinking sleepily down at them.

"Just an ordinary owl?" Moody's hand was still hovering over his wand.

"A barn owl. Didn't you bring an animal?"

"I brought—oh yeah. Simon!" At the sound of his call, a rangy tabby just out of kittenhood sauntered through the crack in the compartment door, rubbed himself along Moody's shins and then jumped into Minerva's lap, purring loudly the whole time. Minerva's face broke open in a grin. "You like cats," observed Moody.

"I _love_ cats. He's a lot calmer than you are."

"That's why I brought him. He would've gotten himself killed at home. My dad's a breeder for the Dragon Conservancy in Romania, and with dragons, if you're not constantly vigilant, you're dead." Moody pushed up his left sleeve to reveal a scarred crescent of toothmarks. "That was a baby Hungarian Horntail, about two years ago. I was lucky that its tail spikes hadn't grown in yet—it got me across the face, and I could've lost an eye."

Minerva was appropriately impressed. "I wish I had that kind of practical experience. I've been reading up on Transfiguration, though." Even as the words came out she regretted them. _Stop being such a keener, Minerva—don't you want friends?_ But Moody, to her surprise, lit up with interest. "Transfiguration? I've not done any of that. What are you reading?"

They were on first-name terms by the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station.

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><p>Please don't forget to review! See you soon. *heart*<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

This is the shortest chapter so far. I'll try to start making them a bit longer, but I don't have tons of time. This is the third day in a row that I've updated, though, so that's something. :)

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><p><em>It's going to be Ravenclaw.<em>

That's what Minerva had always known; that's what she'd told Alastor when he'd asked. So now, as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto her head, knocking her specs askew, she wasn't nervous. Minerva knew what it would say.

"Are you sure about that?" It asked.

Minerva kept her mind blank, waiting.

"You would do well in Ravenclaw," the hat went on. "You're clever, beyond a doubt, but you're also brave and ambitious. Not, however, very loyal."

That roused her. _What? I am loyal! _She thought furiously, before remembering that she didn't actually want to be in Hufflepuff.

"So you do have a preference, then?" Said the hat, somewhat mockingly.

_It doesn't matter. I know you'll put me in Ravenclaw._

"And if I don't?"

Gryffindor or Slytherin? Minerva had never considered that choice before, but her preference came instantly. _Gryffindor._

"Now we've narrowed things down! Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, then. And the question becomes, are you cleverer than you are brave, or braver than you are clever?"

_Do you insult everyone who puts you on?_

Instead of answering, the hat chuckled, and then shouted a name for everyone to hear.

Minerva McGonagall stood up and, as she replaced the Sorting Hat on its stool, met her sister's eyes across the Great Hall.

The look of complete surprise on Venus' face melted into a grin, and she pointed to the next table over, where Gryffindor House was cheering.

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><p>So, please review? And see you soon! *heart*<p> 


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